Subscribe to newsletter

TU Delft students unveil new sustainable race car

TU Delft’s DUT Racing team has unveiled its new sustainable race car for the DUT08 Formula Student event. The combination of an engine which runs on E-85 (85% bio-ethanol) and a light-weight design enables the students to demonstrate that sustainability and good performance can go hand-in-hand.

By
Editor Design.nl
/ 23-06-2008

TU Delft’s DUT Racing team has unveiled its new sustainable race car for the DUT08 Formula Student event. The combination of an engine which runs on E-85 (85% bio-ethanol) and a lightweight design enables the students to demonstrate that sustainability and good performance can go hand-in-hand.

Henk Wapstra, DUT Racing team manager, sees the use of E-85 as a step forward in the search for alternatives to fossil fuels in the racing industry. Minor alterations are all that are needed for a conventional petrol engine to run on E-85.

LightweightHowever, sustainable solutions have been sought not just with respect to fuel. For instance, the DUT Racing team has been well-known for its light-weight design for many years. This reduces fuel consumption and improves performance. Its design proved a great success last year when the team finished second in the world championships held at the Silverstone circuit. For years now, the smart application of carbon fibres has enabled the team to reduce the car’s weight. Many computer simulations and crash tests are needed in order to guarantee the driver’s safety.

Formula StudentThe students have entered the new car for the Formula Student competition, in which four hundred universities of technology compete. The DUT Racing team is participating in this competition at the Silverstone and Hockenheim circuits. The competition looks closely not only at the performance of the car, such as acceleration and road handling, but also at its design, manufacturing potential, ingenuity and safety. The students are therefore assessed on more than just one-off performance.

Roll outAs the race car is assessed by professionals from both the car industry and the racing world, the students need to be able to fully justify all their decisions. This competition therefore grooms them for a career in the car industry. A number of students who participated in previous years have subsequently found jobs in this sector.